In the question of the lethal dose of alcohol, scientists and doctors do not give an unambiguous answer, since the body of each of us is individual. Only averaged values in ppm and liters are known. But they can also be useful.
Let’s first understand the wording. The unit ppm denotes a thousandth of one substance in another. 1 ppm of alcohol indicates that there is 1 ml of pure alcohol in one liter of human blood. It should be understood that pure alcohol is even stronger than alcohol.
Scientists have come to the conclusion that the lethal dose of alcohol per ppm is 5-6 units , and strong intoxication occurs at a concentration of 2.5 ppm. But it’s easier for us to count the alcohol we drink in bottles and liters. Let’s translate this dose into more understandable units.
One bottle of vodka contains about 200 ml of pure alcohol (2.5 ppm). Therefore, for a healthy body, a lethal dose will be one and a half liters of vodka (three bottles of 0.5 liters). But a person should drink these three bottles in a short period of time (up to an hour) and should not be vomited.
The situation is different with beer and wine. The alcohol concentration in these drinks is much lower than in vodka. When recalculated in liters, their lethal dose is several times higher than the “vodka” maximum. In a short period, most people simply will not be able to drink such a significant amount of beer or wine, they will have a gag reflex, our body also knows how to defend itself.
The likelihood of death from alcohol consumption is highly dependent on age, weight and the presence of chronic diseases. Young and old people are much more sensitive to alcohol than everyone else. The situation is aggravated by diseases of the stomach and kidneys, bad snacks, as well as the quality of alcoholic beverages.
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